response 51 of 108:

Jan 5 18:09 UTC 1995

After all the words that have been thrown around, I don't have the foggiest 
what I would write which could be sanctioned by the board.  There seems
to be no acceptable concensus about planning and quality (for a good
example, read AOL's latest report from the president about their goals
in plain English).  There is a group of volunteers with veto powers which 
really control the operation IMHO.  We are in the process of moving to 
a new location which seems to be what is actually happenin.  There are
a lot of sensitive issues and people.  What I would write, although not
damaging or offensive IMO, would be the object of never ending debate.
There are insiders here and they should make up an official newsletter.

response 53 of 108:

Jan 5 19:23 UTC 1995

Aren't you just talking about an "editorial", Andy? Most of what
would go into a newsletter would just be information about what is
happening (or planned). You can find out what is *planned* easily
enough by asking (who? e-mail baff, and you'll get several (different?)
responses). Ask the Chairman to write an editorial (when we have
a chairman, that is - the remnant board hasn't chosen one yet). There
are several committees. Ask them to write up what they are doing.
I think that before being an editor, you have to be a reporter. And
remember - no page limit *either way* has been established!

response 55 of 108:

Jan 6 05:23 UTC 1995

I'd say let the board have ultimate control of the newsletter, but
let the editorial staff run it their way.  If there's a problem the
board can call the editorial staff on the carpet.  I'd expect that
there wouldn't be any reasonable reason to do so unless someone 
published something libelous or incredibly counter to Grex's best
interests.  As Rane points out, a lot of what is likely to be
published is information already available (such as in a conference)
regarding what Grex is about, how to use Grex's features, what is
being planned, how many volunteers are needed and when, perhaps a
short Unix tip or conferencing tip, how to get more help while online,
common Grex helper questions and their answers, etc.

response 57 of 108:

Jan 6 07:01 UTC 1995

I agree. I don't think the board wants to *control* anything. I think
andy and any other helpers should get try to see what they can produce.
Based on the quality of the responses, I don't think it's too likely
these folks are going to produce anything problematical.

response 59 of 108:

Jan 6 08:03 UTC 1995

Whooops! I slipped, Valerie. Sorry! Actually, we are both wrong (see, a
consensus): the bylaws specify that Grex has (had) a *Chairperson*.
However, when we do have a full (I hope) board, I think it should sanction
the newsletter, and appoint the editors, just as it sanctions other
official publications. It also helps the understanding of the basis for a
person (the editor) speaking *for* Grex ("on whose authority?"). This
takes just a minute, and can replace some other long discursive board
discussions about very little ;->. 

response 61 of 108:

Jan 6 14:15 UTC 1995

I keep "common e-mail response messages" in my directory.  Instead of
retyping the same dang answer, I just read in one of those.
(It's in /u/popcorn/messages, if anybody's interested.)

response 63 of 108:

Jan 6 22:51 UTC 1995

Unfortunately, there probably isn't - but you can tell the other person
to say !cat /u/popcorn/messages/pine.problems if what's in that file
looks relevant.  But rather than having this in popcorn's directory,
these should be in some obvious "system" location - we already had one
jokester in party inviting people to view some *very long* file he had
in his home directory...

I like the idea of a newsletter that's stored in html online, and also
mailed monthly on paper to members.  A truely clever scheme would put
the membership expiration date on the mailing label.  Perhaps that could
be used as an enticement for members who aren't local to A^2, along the
same lines as PBS tv guides.  (We could also include a mug and t-shirt
promotion as another periodic incentive...) The only problem I see is it
sounds like our budget isn't quite large enough to make this practical
toady - but perhaps we could try it once and see if it can be made to
pay for itself?  (Ie, "become a member during this special promotional
drive and receive a free monthly newsletter?)"

response 65 of 108:

Jan 7 03:22 UTC 1995

I largely agree with that Chris. I must say that while the board would not
be interested in exercising editorial control, it must remain ultimately
responsible for the content as the board is granting the sanction.

The board would expect the editor to use his or her best judgment, not to
come running to the board to decide things. If that judgment proved
unsatisfactory in the board's view, the greatest likelihood is that a new 
editor would be found. Not that this is very likely, but the way you have it 
the editor has a sanction from the board but no responsibility to it.

response 67 of 108:

Jan 7 17:12 UTC 1995

Re 65 and 66, you are of course right, and I wasn't clear.  I'd work under
those general guidelines, and I definitely hope I'd have help.  <hint hint
hint>

response 69 of 108:

Jan 8 01:53 UTC 1995

(The reason it's turned off is to keep people from doing a "|yes".)

response 71 of 108:

Jan 8 07:25 UTC 1995

Ha ha ha.  I did a !man yes and saved myself a lot of hassle...
I suspect that command is for testing a terminal or something along
those lines, but someone with more Unix knowledge will probably
know for sure.

response 73 of 108:

Jan 8 08:20 UTC 1995

If you're connected through the Internet, it's possible that large
quantities of data are being buffered by someone between you and
Grex, such that your interrupt has stopped the process, but
you need to wait for a buffer to drain.

It's useful for programs that want a yes/no answer (a la fsck),
but don't provide a -y option or similar (like fsck does).